Articles
Valorization of greenhouse crop residues using anaerobic digestion
Article number
1428_12
Pages
93 – 100
Language
English
Abstract
In the pursuit of sustainable and circular agricultural practices, the valorization of greenhouse crop residues through anaerobic digestion (AD) offers a promising approach to mitigating environmental impacts and optimizing resource recovery.
This study investigates the biomethane production potential and nitrogen mineralization of tomato and cucumber leaves under mesophilic (35°C) and thermophilic (55°C) conditions.
Greenhouse crop residues, particularly tomato leaves, represent a significant source of nutrients, with 27% of supplied nitrogen stored in the foliage.
Improper disposal of these residues can lead to nutrient leaching, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental hazards.
Anaerobic digestion is an effective organic waste management strategy that produces both biogas and nutrient-rich digestate.
In this study, batch AD experiments were conducted to quantify biomethane production and nitrogen mineralization over a 28-day period.
The results showed that cucumber leaves yielded significantly higher biomethane under thermophilic conditions (441±28 mL CH4 g‑1 VS) compared to mesophilic conditions (329±1 mL CH4 g‑1 VS). In contrast, tomato leaves exhibited no significant variation between temperature regimes, with yields of 304±30 and 274±1 mL CH4 g‑1 VS, respectively.
Furthermore, nitrogen mineralization was higher in cucumber leaves, reaching 6.1±0.6 g N-NH4+ kg‑1 fresh biomass under mesophilic conditions, compared to 3.1±1.0 g N-NH4+ kg‑1 for tomato leaves.
These findings suggest that AD is a viable waste management strategy, contributing to bioenergy production while enhancing nutrient recovery.
However, the potential presence of inhibitory compounds in tomato leaves may limit their biomethane potential, highlighting the need for co-digestion strategies to optimize AD performance.
Future research should focus on improving digestion efficiency and assessing the feasibility of large-scale implementation.
This study investigates the biomethane production potential and nitrogen mineralization of tomato and cucumber leaves under mesophilic (35°C) and thermophilic (55°C) conditions.
Greenhouse crop residues, particularly tomato leaves, represent a significant source of nutrients, with 27% of supplied nitrogen stored in the foliage.
Improper disposal of these residues can lead to nutrient leaching, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental hazards.
Anaerobic digestion is an effective organic waste management strategy that produces both biogas and nutrient-rich digestate.
In this study, batch AD experiments were conducted to quantify biomethane production and nitrogen mineralization over a 28-day period.
The results showed that cucumber leaves yielded significantly higher biomethane under thermophilic conditions (441±28 mL CH4 g‑1 VS) compared to mesophilic conditions (329±1 mL CH4 g‑1 VS). In contrast, tomato leaves exhibited no significant variation between temperature regimes, with yields of 304±30 and 274±1 mL CH4 g‑1 VS, respectively.
Furthermore, nitrogen mineralization was higher in cucumber leaves, reaching 6.1±0.6 g N-NH4+ kg‑1 fresh biomass under mesophilic conditions, compared to 3.1±1.0 g N-NH4+ kg‑1 for tomato leaves.
These findings suggest that AD is a viable waste management strategy, contributing to bioenergy production while enhancing nutrient recovery.
However, the potential presence of inhibitory compounds in tomato leaves may limit their biomethane potential, highlighting the need for co-digestion strategies to optimize AD performance.
Future research should focus on improving digestion efficiency and assessing the feasibility of large-scale implementation.
Authors
M. Belley, C. Vaneeckhaute, S. Godbout, M. Dorais
Keywords
anaerobic digestion, greenhouse horticulture, waste management, tomato waste, cucumber waste, biochemical methane potential, nitrogen recovery
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